Cowboys Ink Barber, Newman to Long-Term Deals

Boy, that CBA vote sure set the dominoes in motion. Cornerback Terence Newman: six years, $50.2 million, $22.5 million guaranteed. Running back Marion Barber: seven years, $45 million, $16 million guaranteed. There was some debate among the Outsiders about the wisdom of investing so much money in a running back, but Barber is young (he turns 25 next month), he has never carried more than 204 times in a season, and the Cowboys have Felix Jones to ensure that Barber is never struck by the Curse of 370.

I'm not an expert, but obviously these deals happened because of the owners opting out of the CBA and 2010 being uncapped. Suppose that both sides come to an agreement for a new CBA in the near future (or is that just crazy?) Does this change things for 2010, or is 2010 going to be un-capped no matter what?

A couple of things;
For one, the Cowboys got Romo to restructure to make this happen. He took 5 million extra guaranteed this year, which lowered his cap figure to a measly 3.5. There's potential for the same to be done with Andre Gurode or even Roy Williams (Unlikely) if Canty or Hamlin's deals are extended.
Secondly, there's no way that the timing is coincidence. I don't doubt for a minute that the Jones family will find some way to take advantage of 2010.

I love this. Owners opt out of the CBA at least in part because player costs are too high. So they see an uncapped year looming on the horizon and go out and spend more money on players than they normally would.

RE: 10
There are some owners that are having trouble with player costs, but the Cowboys certainly aren't one of them. IIRC the Cowboys, Redskins, Giants and Texans are the highest grossing NFL teams, but only the Texans have trouble getting a positive net (due to their stadium). When the uncapped years hit, the other 3 teams will be able to spend much more than anyone else on players and you'll have baseball's Yankees/Red Sox problem. Watch out Eagles fans, remember the 80s and 90s where the Giants, Redskins and Cowboys all won championships and you didn't? It's ba-ack!!!

#10. It's perfectly logical and reminds me of an old, original Star Trek episode in which Spock tells two identical twin androids "I love YOU... however, I hate YOU." Their circuits fry trying to figure that one out.